India stand by England tour plans
India will not alter the itinerary for the home series against England later this year despite complaints from the ECB.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Tuesday said it would go ahead with plans to play the two Tests in December in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, while the seven preceding one-dayers would be played in Rajkot, Guwahati, Cuttack, Jamshedpur, Indore, Kanpur and Delhi.
After the schedule was first announced, the ECB had complained, saying "the itinerary didn't offer the thousands of supporters who follow the England team abroad, the opportunity to experience more of the great cricket grounds of India."
But BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said it was the prerogative of the hosting country to choose venues.
"We would like to remind the ECB that our venues are always decided on the basis of a rotation policy," Shah told cricketnirvana.com.
"The itinerary for the England tour has been finalised on the basis of this rotation policy.
Shah added that the ECB should not have voiced their disappointment with the media.
"We do not quite understand how and why the ECB has chosen to air its grievances over this policy in the media," Shah added.
"Whenever the Indian team has toured England, some of the venues have not been up to the mark in terms of facilities for Indian players and supporters.
"However, we have complied and gone ahead and played, for it is the host board's prerogative to fix the itinerary."
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